As the sector skills council for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies, Semta wants to help employers plan truly effective training for the year ahead, and to secure the future by taking on apprentices and graduates.
As well as providing practical expertise, Semta is offering companies the opportunity to get involved in solving the sector’s skills issues.
With new money from the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, the Employer Ownership of Skills Pilot funding pot is now worth a total of £340million. So Semta is encouraging businesses and training providers in England to work with them as sector experts in partnership to bid for this investment.
As the organisation responsible for improving skills in the UK’s 132,000 wealth-producing engineering and manufacturing companies, Semta is focussing on closing skills gaps in the supply chain, recruiting new talent through apprentices and graduates, and helping employers across the UK to access any funding still available.
Said Sarah Sillars OBE, Semta’s chief executive: “Semta is ideally positioned to offer advice and coordinate employers and sector organisations who can work in partnership and win funding to ensure employers’ skills needs are met. The economy is forecast to return to growth in 2013 and Semta will be at the forefront, leading the charge on skills that provide a return on investment.
“Organisations in our sectors typically deliver £20,000 per employee more in Gross Value Added than the overall national average and therefore have a critical role to play in delivering economic recovery. So our role, in ensuring that the right skills are in place, will be a huge factor in the success of engineering and manufacturing in 2013.”
While much work is already underway to combat engineering and manufacturing skills challenges, Semta forecasts that more than 82,000 scientists, engineers and technologists will be needed across the UK by 2016 to take advantage of growth opportunities and reduce the impact of skills lost through retirement. And there is a further need to upskill 363,000 of the current technical workforce whose qualifications are currently below world class standards.
Semta’s 2012 achievements
A key focus for Semta in 2012 was to encourage companies to hire more apprentices by putting the right support mechanisms in place to enable employers to take on an apprentice more easily.
Semta is delivering on its Apprenticeship Ambition to double the number of advanced and higher apprenticeships from 8,000 to 16,000 by 2016. This will help ensure that industry has the higher skills needed to compete in value-added global markets.
Key to fulfilling the ambition is providing the frameworks needed by employers. So in 2012 Semta launched the Advanced Manufacturing Engineering higher apprenticeship, developed with employers for employers. Companies, such as BAE Systems, Jaguar Land Rover, and Siemens have already recruited more than 400 apprentices to the new framework which combines practical skills with a higher education qualification.
To make it easier for employers to recruit apprentices Semta this year expanded its managed apprenticeship service to work with around 50 colleges and providers, training more than 750 apprentices. In March 2012 the Semta Apprenticeship Service was described by Ofsted as outstanding in meeting the needs of employers and providing “outstanding value for money “. The Semta Apprenticeship Service achieves 94% Employer satisfaction, 88% Apprentice satisfaction and a 87% Completion rate compared with a 76% national average.
In addition 2012 has also seen Semta:
- Bring to 1300 the number of women in engineering and manufacturing to benefit from the Career Advancement and Progression programme which offers women tailored training to help them reach their potential in a male dominated working environment.
- Support more than 600 advanced manufacturing and engineering supply chain firms to produce a skills plan and invest in training programmes that will improve performance and growth.
- Identify almost 2,700 new apprenticeship places against a March 2014 target of 4,000.
- Launch a Graduate Development Toolkit to support the effective recruitment, development & retention of graduates into manufacturing and engineering.
- Offer a £1,000 grant to help companies with up to 249 employees hire an unemployed graduate for at least 12 weeks.
- Start the Advanced Skills Accreditation Scheme which allows companies access to individual Master’s degree modules for employees without any pre-qualifications.
The year ahead
Looking to 2013, while it is clear that while the economy will continue to present challenges, the government’s Industrial Strategy will put advanced manufacturing and engineering at the heart of the UK’s growth strategy.
Continued Sarah Sillars: “Semta has made a real difference in 2012, helping advanced manufacturing and engineering employers to recruit apprentices and graduates, upskill the supply chain, increase higher levels skills and promote the development and retention of women.
“In the coming year we will help tackle the “lost generation”, by showing young people and their parents and advisors the fantastic career opportunities available in manufacturing and engineering. And we will work with employers and partners to ensure that these important sectors get the funding needed to develop sustainable skills solutions. The new year is always a good time to get your business planning right so any manufacturing or engineering employer, who needs skills support to boost business in 2013, should act now and contact Semta.”
For further details on how Semta could support your business, please contact Semta Customer Services on 0845 643 9001 or via email customerservices@semta.org.uk
Semta is the employer-led Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies in the UK. The sectors it represents are: Aerospace, Automotive, Composites, Electrical, Electronics, Maintenance, Marine, Mathematics, Mechanical, Metals and Engineered Metal Products, Renewables and Science. Its role is to raise skills levels and competitiveness in the 132,000 companies and 1.7 million-strong workforce that make up these sectors. Its National Skills Academy for Manufacturing delivers an independent national standard for manufacturing training content, delivery and process by focusing on business return which is typically 6:1.
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